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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24684796">Mirage</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/28RainbowSnakes/pseuds/28RainbowSnakes'>28RainbowSnakes</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Omega Ruby &amp; Alpha Sapphire | Pokemon Omega Ruby &amp; Alpha Sapphire Versions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Connected to PMD, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Lots of Crying, Prequel to PWF, Slight May and Brendan Shipping, Takes place after ORAS, Tragedy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 07:40:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,781</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24684796</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/28RainbowSnakes/pseuds/28RainbowSnakes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>May had no idea how drastically her life was about to change. Two years after she destroyed the meteor that was headed in Hoenn’s direction, things began to fall apart as one of May’s Pokémon mysteriously died. Little did May know that was only the beginning of her losses as an apocalyptic disaster was headed toward the world. (Short prequel to PWF)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Mirage</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> May and Brendan were walking together on Route 120. May's plusle and minun were riding on her shoulders while Brendan had his raichu walking right next to him.</p><p> "Is that so?" asked May, looking at Brendan.</p><p> "Yeah, I'm planning to start a shiny hunt soon. Dad, I mean Professor Birch said that they are extremely rare Pokémon. Only one in 4096 Pokémon are born shiny," explained Brendan.</p><p> "I've seen one before. They are Pokémon with different color schemes than most Pokémon of their species," said May.</p><p> "You've got that right. Wait, don't tell me you've encountered a shiny Pokémon before," said Brendan, making his surprised face.</p><p> "Not in the wild. A challenger I recently faced had a shiny Pokémon. I believe it was a shiny florges. Still, even with that rarity, Storm managed to beat it," explained May. Brendan sighed in relief.</p><p> "Phew! For a second, I was worried that you saw a shiny in the wild and ran away from it or something like that. You do not want to make that mistake, trust me!" said Brendan.</p><p> The patch of grass the trainers were walking by suddenly rustled. Brendan's raichu got into battle position, pointing his face at the grass.</p><p> "What's wrong, Rai?" asked Brendan, turning toward his raichu.</p><p> The grass rustled again. Tiny sparkles surrounded the patch for a split second.</p><p> "No way!" said Brendan, sneaking up to the patch of grass. May watched as he slowly moved closer to the grass. As Brendan's foot was about to brush up against the blades, a kecleon jumped at him.</p><p> May thought it was an ordinary kecleon at first. It had the same green scales and yellow frills any kecleon had. It was when May saw the zigzag stripe around its midsection that she noticed something different about it.</p><p> "Oh my Arceus! A shiny kecleon! Just as we were talking about shinies! This is amazing!" shouted Brendan, putting his hands up into a cheering pose. "There is no time to waste. I am going to catch this Pokémon as quickly as possible. Alright, Rai, use Thunderwave!" shouted Brendan, pointing to the kecleon.</p><p> The raichu nodded as he discharged electricity from his cheeks. Just as the attack was about to impact the kecleon, an absol jumped into the crossfire.</p><p> "What the!" shouted Brendan, watching the absol his raichu just paralyzed try to run further. Its horn was radiantly glowing. "What was that all about?! Oh well, I guess I'll try again," sighed Brendan.</p><p> "Brendan, watch out!" shouted May.</p><p> Just as Brendan was about to command his raichu to use Thunderwave again, something knocked him over to the ground. Feet kept trampling him as he tried to get up.</p><p> "Brendan!" shouted May, as she saw him get run over by a large horde of absols. May quickly grabbed one of her Poké balls from her belt. "Thorn, get the absols away from him!" May shouted, throwing the Poké ball. A sceptile came out of the Poké ball.</p><p> May watched as Thorn used X-scissor, Dual Chop, and Leaf Blade on the absols. She noticed that all the absol's horns were glowing. It almost looked like a night parade.</p><p> As Thorn chased away the last absol, May noticed it mumbling something to Thorn. Thorn seemed to have a strong reaction to whatever the absol was saying to him. He ran back to May sweating.</p><p> Thorn suddenly grabbed May and screamed something at her in Pokémon language. The plusle and minun jumped off of May's shoulders. They started running around in panic circles.</p><p> "Ahh!" May heard the Plusle and Minun scream in their language. They ran a few short laps before suddenly running up to each other and hugging each other. Tears were spilling out of their eyes as they hugged.</p><p> "Possy? Neggy? Are you two alright?" May asked the plusle and minun, kneeling.</p><p> "Ugh," May heard Brendan moan. May realized that she needed to check on him as well.</p><p> "Storm," May said, releasing her manectric from his Poké ball. "Can you watch Possy and Neggy while I go see if Brendan is alright?" May gently asked.</p><p> Storm nodded as May ran toward Brendan.</p><p> "Brendan, are you alright?!" May asked, kneeling to where Brendan was laying.</p><p> "Is the kecleon still here?" Brendan muffled, his face still on the ground.</p><p> May looked around for the shiny kecleon. She saw a few more absols running by, horns glowing as fierce as fire. May did notice a kecleon but could tell by the red stripe around its abdomen that it wasn't the same one.</p><p> "I think it got away," sighed May.</p><p> Brendan lied frozen for a second. He then punched the ground with his fist.</p><p> "No! Darn it!" He screamed at a volume painful for May's ears. Brendan got up and kicked the air around him.</p><p> I'm sorry," sighed May.</p><p> Brendan sighed as he turned toward May. May noticed that he had bruises and scratches all over him. His right eye had a black and blue ring surrounding it.</p><p> "Are you sure you're okay? You look pretty beat up," said May, surveying Brendan's injuries.</p><p> "I'm fine, just crushed that the shiny kecleon got away," answered Brendan, rubbing his beat-up face. He looked down at his raichu, who seemed to have taken some damage. "I think I'm gonna go back home to Littleroot Town. Want to come with me?" Brendan asked.</p><p> "Thanks, but there's something I want to do first. I can meet you at your house after that," answered May.</p><p> "Okay," sighed Brendan. He pulled out his PokéNav. It's currently 5:27. How about you meet me in about an hour, at 6:27," suggested Brendan.</p><p> "That's a randomly specific time, but okay. Please take it easy yourself," said May.</p><p> "Then I guess we have it planned. Alright Rai, return," said Brendan, holding up Rai's Poké ball. Rai returned to his Poké ball. Brendan grabbed another Poké ball. He opened it to let out his swellow. "Swellow, use Fly!" commanded Brendan, hopping on his swallow.</p><p> May watched as Brendan flew away on his swellow. She looked back at her Pokémon. Possy and Neggy were no longer crying.</p><p> "Well that was a weird turn of events," said May, scratching her head.</p><p> "May? Is that you? Yo! I wasn't expecting to see you here, Champion."</p><p> May turned and saw Sidney from the Elite Four walking toward her.</p><p> "Oh hey Sidney," said May.</p><p> "Champion, there's something I need to ask you. Have you seen any wild absols?" Sidney asked.</p><p> "I just saw a bunch of absols running by," answered May.</p><p> "Interesting. Did their behavior look unusual? Did they look like they were freaking out?" asked Sidney.</p><p> "I don't really know. They all just ran by," answered May.</p><p> "Were their horns glowing?" asked Sidney.</p><p> May recalled how the absols looked like a giant line of light. The horns on the sides of their heads were all lighting up. It looked to May as if they were preparing to participate in a light show.</p><p> "Yes, they were," answered May. May's answer seemed to make Sidney's face go pale.</p><p> "This can't be good. I came here because my absol had been going crazy since this morning. So crazy, that I had to convince Steven to close the Pokémon League today. My absol didn't want to battle," explained Sidney. "His horn was glowing brighter than I have ever seen before. Absols have the ability to foretell future disasters. Their horns glow when they see an upcoming disaster. The brighter the horn glows, the worst the disaster they sense will be. If every absol's horn is glowing brightly like mine, then…. Well, I don't want to freak you out, but something bad is likely coming in the direction of Hoenn," explained Sidney.</p><p> May didn't even know what to say. She wondered if she was about to have to save the world for the third time. She thought she had brought everlasting peace to Hoenn when she destroyed the meteor two years ago.</p><p> "I know it's a lot to process, Champ. Well, since I found what I was looking for, my presence here no longer serves a purpose. I will be heading back to the Pokémon League to report this to them. You be careful," said Sidney. He released his mandibuzz and flew away on her.</p><p> May sighed as she looked back at her Pokémon. Possy and Neggy were crying again.</p><p> "Don't worry, guys. I'm sure we'll be fine. If something bad does happen, we'll stop it. We've done it before," said May. She kneeled to Possy and Neggy and pet them.</p><p> May then returned Thorn and Storm back to their Poké balls. She allowed Possy and Neggy to climb back on her shoulders. She then sent out her latias. She hopped on her and started flying.</p><p> "Airplane, to a Mirage Spot!" May shouted as her latias ascended.</p><p> May looked down at the Hoenn region as Airplane was flying. She normally found the view very relaxing. She could feel herself trembling when she saw the view this time.</p><p><em> I hope Hoenn will be alright! </em>May thought to herself, as Airplane started to descend. She looked forward and saw a Mirage Spot in front of her. Airplane landed in the center of the mirage spot.</p><p> May got off of Airplane as she looked around. She let Possy and Neggy climb down from her shoulders. She then sent out Thorn and Storm.</p><p> "Thorn, Storm, Possy, Neggy, we've arrived at the Mirage Spot I said we'll explore. I'm going to let everyone roam free as long as they don't go too far. Not that you really can go far on a tiny island like this. Try to take your mind off of what just happened," said May.</p><p> The four Pokémon nodded. May sent her beautifly, hariyama, and Kyogre. She told them the same thing, leaving out the mention of what just happened. The Pokémon nodded as they dispersed.</p><p> May took a seat on a nearby rock. She smiled when she saw Storm, Possy, and Neggy play tag with each other. She wondered how long these times would last.</p><p><em> Is the world really in danger again? After its last threat only happened two years ago? After I destroyed that meteor that was heading for us? Not even to mention the time Flood almost drowned the whole planet in rain. I've saved this world twice before. And both of those times, I've had to risk my life to do so. Will I have to risk my life again? What if I don't make it this time? What if I fail? </em>May thought to herself.</p><p> May's deep thinking was interrupted by the sound of a Pokémon screaming. She looked up and saw her beautifly flying toward her. She seemed to be struggling to fly.</p><p> "Betty!" shouted May, holding her arms out. The beautifly fell into May's arms and rolled over on her back.</p><p> "She must have gotten attacked by a wild Pokémon," May said to herself. "Everyone, come back! This spot may not be as safe as I thought it would be!"</p><p> May dug into her bag as her Pokémon gathered around her. She looked through her endless stock of items that could somehow all fit in her fanny bag.</p><p> Betty suddenly made a loud cry of pain. May looked up holding a hyper potion. She tried to spray it on Betty. May then noticed Betty's wings starting to dissolve.</p><p> "Betty?!" May shouted, seeing Betty's wings fade away. "Betty, what's happening to you?!"</p><p> May held Betty close to her chest as her body turned to dust particles being carried away by the wind. Soon, May was no longer looking at Betty. She was looking at her forelimbs, which were Betty's last resting place.</p><p> "Betty?!" cried May, looking at her arms. "BETTY!"</p>
<hr/><p> "<em>Do you know how to catch a wild Pokémon?" asked Brendan, looking at May as they were walking on Route 101.</em></p><p> "<em>Of course I do! My dad taught me when I was five," answered May.</em></p><p> "<em>Then should you try to catch a wild Pokémon around here with the Poké balls my dad gave you," said Brendan.</em></p><p> "<em>Okay, I'll do that," said May.</em></p><p> "<em>I'm gonna go look for one myself. I look forward to seeing what kinds of Pokémon you'll catch on this journey," said Brendan. Brendan walked away into a patch of grass.</em></p><p> "<em>I guess this will be my first catch," said May, taking out a Poké ball. She sent out her only Pokémon, which was a treecko. "Alright Thorn, we're gonna look for a wild Pokémon to catch," May said to Thorn, holding her arm out for him to climb. Thorn climbed onto May's shoulder.</em></p><p>
  <em> A nearby patch of grass started shaking, Thorn jumped to the ground, landing in a fighting pose. A small red caterpillar Pokémon crawled out.</em>
</p><p> "<em>Aw, it's cute. I believe that's a wurmple," said May, recalling herself reading a Pokémon encyclopedia book. May took out her Pokédex and scanned the insect.</em></p><p><em> <strong> Wurmple, the Worm Pokémon</strong> </em> <em> <strong>. </strong> </em> <em> <strong>Wurmple is targeted by swellow as prey. This Pokémon will try to resist by pointing the spikes on its rear at the attacking predator. It will weaken the foe by leaking poison from the spikes. </strong> </em> <em>The Pokédex said.</em></p><p> "<em>Wow! Little, but fierce, huh? This is definitely worth catching. Alright Thorn, weaken it with Pound!" May commanded, pointing to the wurmple.</em></p><p>
  <em> Thorn slapped the wurmple with his tail. The wurmple was knocked back into the grass. It crawled back out and released a spiderweb-like string. The string wrapped around Thorn.</em>
</p><p> "<em>String Shot, I see," said May.</em></p><p><em> May grabbed one of her empty Poké </em> <em>balls. She threw it at the wurmple. The Poké ball hurled through the air before hitting the wurmple in the head. The Poké ball opened and light was let out, suctioning the wurmple into it. The Poké ball sat on the ground as the button in the center lit up. The Poké ball shook once to the right. Then another time to the left. Then to the right once more. Finally, the shaking stopped and the light went out.</em></p><p> "<em>I did it," May said to herself, putting her hands over her mouth. A tear leaked from her eye. She walked over to the Poké ball. She bent over and grabbed it.</em></p><p> "<em>I caught my first Pokémon!" May shouted, holding the Poké ball up. She noticed Thorn staring at her from the ground. His arms were crossed.</em></p><p> "<em>Second Pokémon, I mean," laughed May, patting Thorn's head. "But the first Pokémon I've ever caught! I'm one step closer to becoming the Pokémon master I've always dreamed of being," cried May, looking at the Poké ball containing her new Pokemon.</em></p><p>
  <em> May pushed the button on the Poké ball, letting out a light. The wurmple came out with the light.</em>
</p><p> "<em>Hey there," said May, bending down to the wurmple. The startled wurmple scampered into the patch of grass. "Don't worry, we're friends now," said May, holding her arm out to the wurmple.</em></p><p>
  <em> The wurmple looked at her hand motionless for a second. It slowly allowed itself to move closer. Soon, it was completely under May's hand. May pet the wurmple, being careful not to stroke the spikes. She then put her hand on the ground in front of the wurmple. The wurmple slowly climbed on top of it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em> May gently removed her hand from the patch of grass. She balanced her new Pokémon on the back of her hand. May took out her Pokédex to scan it again.</em>
</p><p><em> <strong> Pokémon registering. Register complete. Pokémon: Wurmple. Type: Bug. Gender: Female. Height: 1 foot. Weight: 7.9 pounds. Times encountered: 1. </strong> </em> <em>The Pokédex said.</em></p><p> "<em>Interesting. What should I name her?" May asked herself.</em></p><p> "<em>Beh," the wurmple said, climbing up May's arm.</em></p><p> "<em>Beh?" May asked, looking at the wurmple as she climbed on her shoulder.</em></p><p> "<em>Tee," said the wurmple, nudging May's head.</em></p><p> "<em>Tee?" May asked as the wurmple curled against her neck. "Beh tee? Oh, Betty! You want me to call you Betty?" May asked. The wurmple put her head up and nodded. "Betty, okay. Betty, we are about to go on an amazing adventure, just you wait," said May.</em></p><p>
  <em> May held out Betty's Poké ball and returned her to it. She looked at the Poké ball.</em>
</p><p> May looked at Betty's Poké ball. She kneeled next to her bed. Tears dripped down her cheeks. She sank her face into the mattress.</p><p> May heard the sound of PokéNav ringing. She couldn't care less about missing anyone's call. She just wanted time to be alone. Time to process what just happened. Time to mourn the loss of her Pokémon.</p><p> May felt a nudge on her side. She looked up and saw Neggy holding the vibrating PokéNav.</p><p> "Neggy, not now," said May. Neggy curiously looked at the screen and touched it.</p><p> "May?" Brendan's voice asked from the PokéNav.</p><p> "Neggy!" said May, trying to reach for the PokéNav.</p><p> "May? Where are you? You said that you would come to my house at 6:27. It's 7:13 right now. I've been waiting for 46 minutes now," said Brendan. May sighed as she took the PokéNav from Neggy.</p><p> "Sorry, Brendan. I have to cancel," said May, trying not to sniffle as she talked.</p><p> "What? Why?" asked Brendan.</p><p> "I uh, have stuff to do," answered May.</p><p> "May? Are you okay? You don't sound like yourself," said Brendan.</p><p> "Yeah, I'm fine. Just kind of tired," said May, sniffling her runny nose.</p><p> "Okay then. I hope we can reschedule," said Brendan. The call ended as he hung up from the other line.</p><p> May sighed as she put the PokéNav down on the floor. She rubbed her eyes as she placed her head back on the bed.</p><p><em> Oh, Betty, why did this have to happen to you?! What kind of Pokemon could possibly do that?! Why and how?! I wish I could see your cute face one more time! </em>May thought to herself as she cried some more.</p><p> May heard the front door open downstairs. She heard some mumbling coming from downstairs. Footsteps suddenly started heading up the stairs, toward where her room was. May quickly removed her face from the bed and wiped her tears off her face.</p><p> "May?" Brendan asked, opening the door.</p><p> "Brendan? How did you know I was here?" May asked, standing and turning herself around.</p><p> May noticed that Brendan had bandages on his arms and face. His right eye was completely covered, with a pack of ice strapped to it.</p><p> "I didn't," answered Brendan. "I asked your mom if you were here and she said yes. She told me you ran in, looking really upset about something," explained Brendan.</p><p> "Mom," May said, giving a glare at the floor.</p><p> "May, can you please tell me what happened!? You weren't like this when we were hanging out at Route 120 just two hours ago," said Brendan, walking closer to May.</p><p> "I'm just really tired," said May, staring at the floor.</p><p> "You don't have to lie to me. I'm your best friend! I'll listen to anything you say," said Brendan.</p><p> "Something terrible happened to me after I left Route 120," cried May, kneeling to the floor.</p><p> "What happened?" asked Brendan, kneeling down.</p><p> "I lost one of my Pokémon," cried May, putting her hands over her eyes.</p><p> "You lost a Pokémon? Do you want me to help you find it?" asked Brendan.</p><p> "No, I think she died," cried May.</p><p> "You think?" asked Brendan.</p><p> "I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure that was what happened," cried May.</p><p> "How did it happen?" asked Brendan.</p><p> "After you left, I decided to explore a Mirage Spot. I let my Pokémon roam free to explore the island. I thought it was completely safe. Next thing I knew, Betty came to me looking injured. When I tried to heal her, she disappeared in my arms," cried May, spilling more water from her eyes.</p><p> "Disappeared?" asked Brendan.</p><p> "It's really hard to describe what happened. She basically turned to dust," cried May.</p><p> Brendan put his hand on May's shoulder. He watched as she continued crying.</p><p> "May, I'm sorry…" Brendan said. "I'm here if you need me."</p><p> Brendan watched as May cried. He felt tempted to hug her, but didn't know if she would like that. He slowly stood up.</p><p> "I'm sorry to bother you. I didn't realize what you were going through," sighed Brendan.</p><p> "No Brendan, thank you!" cried May, hugging him.</p><p> "There's no need to thank me," said Brendan, slightly blushing.</p><p> A PokéNav suddenly rang. Brendan reached into his pocket and looked at the screen.</p><p> "Oh, I guess my mom's calling me for dinner. Sorry May, I've gotta go," said Brendan.</p><p> "I understand," sighed May.</p><p> "If you want to talk to me again, just give me a call. I'll answer it no matter what situation I'm in," said Brendan, opening May's bedroom door.</p><p> "Brendan," said May, looking up.</p><p> "What is it?" asked Brendan.</p><p> "Umm, I just want to say you're a really great friend. Best friend I could ask for," said May.</p><p> "Aw May, you're too nice. I feel the same way," said Brendan, blushing.</p><p> May watched as Brendan left her room. She looked back at Betty's Poké ball and sighed.</p>
<hr/><p> The next week was a blur for May. She couldn't motivate herself to do much. She spent most of her time in her bedroom. She occasionally went downstairs to eat, hoping no one other than her mom was down there. Her routine became one of a 'lazy' person. Eat, sleep, rest. She reconnected with her Wii U that had collected dust during her journey. May was grateful the Pokémon League was closed due to Sidney's unavailability. She wondered when she would be able to motivate herself enough to leave the house again. When she would be able to face all the people that supported her during her journey. When she would be able to fulfill her role as the Hoenn Champion again.</p><p> May was in the middle of playing a video game on her Wii U. She had owned it ever since she was eight. Before she became a Pokémon Trainer, playing on her Wii U was one of her favorite pastime hobbies. She always had fun bashing enemies, racing the CPUs, and doing so much more. She was trying to beat the hardest level in the game, which she spent the entire week trying to unlock.</p><p> Someone suddenly knocked on her door. The knock caught May off guard, breaking the concentration she had on the game.</p><p> "May? Can I come in?"</p><p> "Darn it!" May yelled as she watched her character fall off the platform. She slapped the floor next to her.</p><p> The door to her room opened. May saw a delcatty walk into the room. The purring delcatty ran toward May and nuzzled her.</p><p> "I'm trying to concentrate," said May, leaning away from the delcatty. May turned her focus back toward the game as she began to attempt the level again. The delcatty walked over to the TV. She seemed to be grabbing one of the cables with her mouth. The TV suddenly went black.</p><p> "Hey!" May yelled crawling over to the delcatty. She saw the delcatty shamelessly holding the plug in her mouth.</p><p> "Sorry, I told her to do that." May saw her dad walk into the room. "May, can we talk?" he asked, walking over to May.</p><p> "About what?" asked May.</p><p> "May, I know that you have cooped yourself in here for the last week," said Norman.</p><p><em> Oh, shoot! </em>Thought May. Her father was on her list of people she did not want to know about her current status. She had earned a lot of his respect and pride ever since she defeated him in an all serious gym battle. He was a figure she did not want to disappoint.</p><p> "I also know that you have been depressed lately," continued Norman.</p><p> May sat there speechless, trying to construct an explanation.</p><p> "And I know that you lost one of your Pokemon recently," finished Norman.</p><p> "H-how did you know?" May asked.</p><p> "Brendan told me. He challenged me to a battle today. After he beat me, he told me everything," explained Norman.</p><p> "Brendan, what did you do?!" May whispered to herself.</p><p> "May, do remember Meadow?" asked Norman, kneeling down.</p><p> "You mean your purugly that died a few years ago?" asked May, recalling memories.</p><p> "Yes, exactly," said Norman. "I got her as a glameow many years before you were born. She was a present from an old friend from Sinnoh. A friend who I can no longer see," sighed Norman. "I promised him to take good care of her. I spent a lot of time training her to become as strong as the rest of my Pokémon. It was a real grind, I'll tell you that," chuckled Norman.</p><p> "Eventually, she gained enough battle experience to evolve into purugly. She was a hard Pokemon to train. She disobeyed me even though I had the gym badges. A lot like my slakings with their truant ability. She was also grumpy toward everyone. She once hissed at a kid when he tried to pet her. Eventually, she did warm up to me, but I still had to apologize to people who tried to touch her. Despite her sullen attitude, she was really good in battle.</p><p> "When she finally obeyed me, I was proud of myself. It kind of felt like the day I found out you became the Hoenn Champion. I had a strong Pokémon on my side who was willing to listen to me. I was a good enough trainer for this stubborn Pokémon. With Meadow, I was able to become good enough to become a gym trainer. I used to work as a gym trainer at Goldenrod gym. This was all the way back before Whitney was their gym leader. I became the top gym trainer. I was so strong, that the gym leader even joked about me taking over as the gym leader.</p><p> "What to her was a simple joke actually made me do a lot of thinking. I wondered if I really could become a gym leader. The thought of it gave me an adrenaline rush. For a while, it was just a dream. But when the day came that the gym leader announced that she was retiring from her job as a gym leader, hope generated inside of me. I wondered if I could take over as the new gym leader.</p><p> "I applied at the Pokémon League, but unfortunately, I was rejected. Not long after the new leader was chosen, I was kicked out for being too strong. Like I do now, I was always going all out on the challengers. The new leader did not appreciate how I was driving all the challengers to the back to the Pokémon Center with ease. I was crushed that day. Not only had I recently been rejected from becoming the new gym leader, but I was also no longer a gym trainer," explained Norman.</p><p> "Meadow must have known how upset I was. That night was the first night she ever purred. It was how I knew we maxed out on our friendship level," said Norman. "After that, I decided to put my dream on hold. I continued being a Pokemon Trainer, but I no longer worked at a gym. Eventually, I married your mother and we had you," said Norman.</p><p> May sat motionlessly with her mouth open. She was unprepared to hear her father's whole backstory. She thought he was going to express how disappointed he was that she hadn't been training in the last week. Or perhaps ask her how her training has been going, to which May was considering lying in her response.</p><p> "You're probably wondering why I am telling you all of this now. Well, I'll get to why soon. Do you remember what happened three years ago?" Norman asked.</p><p> "Yeah," answered May, recalling when Meadow died.</p><p> "Meadow started losing weight and acting lethargic. I started getting worried about her. It was like the time last year when you disappeared from Hoenn. I took her to a Pokémon Center, but they couldn't find anything wrong. Eventually…, well, you were there," sighed Norman.</p><p> "<em>Oh May, how's Meadow?" Norman asked as he hung up his jacket.</em></p><p> "<em>I think she died," answered May.</em></p><p>
  <em> May saw her father freeze. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.</em>
</p><p> "<em>I can show you," said May.</em></p><p>
  <em> Norman wordlessly followed his daughter to the basement. May showed him the purugly that was lying on the bed. Norman kneeled to take a closer look at her. He thought he saw a slight movement in her stomach.</em>
</p><p> "<em>She might still be living," Norman said, feeling her stomach. The purugly was still warm, but there was no breathing.</em></p><p>
  <em> May watched as her father desperately searched his Pokémon's body for a sign of life. For anything that indicated she was still alive, even if barely. As she looked over at his face, she noticed a tear dripping down from his eye. May couldn't believe her eyes. Norman has always kept a serious face, no matter what the situation was. She never even imagined him shedding a tear.</em>
</p><p> "I remember," said May.</p><p> "The reason I am talking about this is that I felt the exact same way you are probably feeling right now. For the first time, I didn't feel like training. I didn't want to battle without my purugly. I even thought that I would never be as good of a trainer. I couldn't motivate myself," explained Norman.</p><p> "But then I remembered my dream. How I wanted to become a gym leader. I realized that it was because of Meadow that I had that dream in the first place. Without Meadow, I would have never become a gym trainer, which meant that I would never hear that joke. So that was why I decided to look in for an opportunity to become a gym leader. Even if that involved having to move to another region. That was how I learned the Petalburg City gym leader was retiring in a year. The Pokémon League was looking for a replacement. I applied without your mother's permission. And I was thrilled to learn that normal was one of the available types. I wanted to be a normal type gym leader for two reasons. The first reason was that purugly was a normal type and the second reason was that Goldenrod gym was a normal gym. It wasn't because it was fitting with my name," chuckled Norman.</p><p> "When I learned that I was accepted as the new Petalburg City gym leader, words couldn't express how happy I was. My dream was finally coming true. Of course, there was that drama of telling your mother that we would have to move to another region. But in the end, she supported my dream and accepted. When I think about it, this purugly is the reason I became a gym leader and the reason we are living in Hoenn today," explained Norman.</p><p> May remembered hearing about how one small decision can cause major changes in the future. She realized it was called the beautifly effect, reminding her more of Betty.</p><p> "May, I want to make sure you understand that being a trainer isn't all sunshine and rainbows. There are many sad parts about being a trainer. The possibility of losing a Pokémon is one of them. It is something that we have both experienced. What makes it sadder for us is that neither of us knows exactly why our Pokémon died. We can be sad all we want, but that doesn't mean we should give up on being trainers entirely. Just look at the Pokémon you still have," said Norman, pointing to May's Pokémon.</p><p> May looked around her room. She saw Norman's delcatty playfully pounce at Possy and Neggy. She saw Storm napping on her bed. She saw Thorn cooped up in the corner, trembling and chewing on a twig. May looked over at her bag where Sumo, Airplane, and Flood's Poké balls were sitting next to.</p><p> "May, I really don't want you to quit being a trainer. You have been a trainer for only two years and you have already come so far. Farther than I have ever come. And yet, there's still so much more you can do. The world of Pokémon is deep. I honestly don't think any amount of training is enough. If you want, I can rematch you to get you back into it," offered Norman.</p><p> May let out a slight smile. She looked at her father and nodded.</p><p> "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get into it. I'll be waiting for you at Petalburg gym when you are ready," said Norman, smiling.</p><p> Norman stood up and walked out of the room. His delcatty enthusiastically followed him. May looked at her Pokémon.</p><p> "Well, I guess I'm gonna go out again," May said to herself.</p><p> May walked over to her bag. She returned Thorn and Storm to their Poké balls. She picked the bag up and put it back around her waist. She grabbed her Poke balls and strapped them to her belt.</p><p> "Alright Possy and Neggy, back on my shoulders. It's time to be a trainer again," said May, feeling her motivation return to her. Possy and Neggy jumped on her shoulders. "Let's go!"</p><p>
  <em> Crash!</em>
</p><p> "What was that?!" May shouted. May looked out her bedroom window and saw smoke rising in the distance.</p><p>
  <em> Ka-boom!</em>
</p><p> "What is happening?!" May yelled. Possy and Neggy jumped off her shoulders. May turned around and saw them running in circles. She had sudden flashbacks to the last time she saw this.</p><p> "<em>If every absol's horn is glowing brightly like mine, then…. Well, I don't want to freak you out, but something bad is likely coming in the direction of Hoenn."</em></p><p> May mentally slapped herself when she remembered hearing Sidney say this. She was so depressed that she forgot there was a possible threat to Hoenn.</p><p> May picked up Possy and Neggy and rushed outside her house. Storm clouds were rushing to cover the sky. A meteor-like object could be seen falling in the distance.</p><p>
  <em> Boom!</em>
</p><p> May saw more smoke as the rock impacted the ground. Her PokéNav suddenly rang. May quickly pulled it out and saw Steven's name on the screen. She was quick to answer.</p><p> "May! Something's happening in Mossdeep City! It was bright and sunny just a few minutes ago, but now the rain is worse than when Team Aqua awakened your Kyogre! And there seem to be meteors falling everywhere! On top of all of that, there is an earthquake happening right now!" shouted Steven.</p><p> "Steven, I'm in Littleroot Town right now! Something weird is happening here too! I just saw a couple of meteor-like objects fall to the ground in the distance. The weather also seems to be drastically changing as well!" May shouted.</p><p> "So this must be something happening all across Hoenn. I was going to ask you to come to Mossdeep City, but if whatever that is happening everywhere, then stay where you are. Try to protect the people in your town. We'll figure this out, I know-"</p><p> "Steven!" shouted May. She looked up and saw rain starting to pour from the sky. The wind accelerated at an alarming rate.</p><p> "Everyone!" May shouted, sending out all of her Pokémon. "Something strange is happening right now! We must protect this town!"</p><p> May watched as her Pokémon formed a barrier. Flood changed into his primal form, aggravating the rain. May touched her mega bracelet and mega evolved Airplane, turning her into a mega latias.</p><p> "Flood! Airplane! You two are the strongest Pokémon so I want you to be the first layer of protection! Storm, Thorn, Sumo, I want you to be the second layer! Possy, Neggy, I want you two to stay on my shoulders!" May commanded.</p><p> The Pokémon nodded as they moved to their assigned position. With that, May rushed over to Brendan's house.</p><p> "Brendan!" shouted May pounding on the door. May's heart sank when nobody answered. "Brendan!" Still, nobody answered. May opened the door. "Brendan!" she screamed.</p><p> May saw Brendan's mom standing in the living room. She was staring at her PokéNav.</p><p> "Is Brendan here?!" May asked with an outdoor voice.</p><p> "I wish he was," sighed Brendan's mom, still staring at the PokéNav.</p><p> "Where is he?!" May shouted.</p><p> "I don't know. I'm trying to call him right now. Birch called saying that whatever is happening right now is also happening where he is doing research. He's at Dewford Town. He is also trying to call Brendan right now. I'm worried that something happened to him wherever he was," said Brendan's mother.</p><p> "No," May said to herself. May took out her PokeNav. Her hands were shaking as she pressed Brendan's contact information. Her body began trembling rapidly as she heard ringing from the other line. She was sweating through her red tank top. Her heart skipped a beat when the ringing stopped.</p><p><em> Caller unavailable </em>May read on the PokéNav's screen.</p><p> "Brendan! No! Please don't leave me! I wanted to tell you that I-," May cried, struggling on the next words.</p><p> "I'm going to continue trying to reach him. I'll let you know if I can reach him. May, please let your mother know that you're okay. I really don't want her to go through the same worry I am going through," said Brendan's mom.</p><p> "Okay, I will," cried May.</p><p> May ran out of the house in tears. She didn't even care about the brutal rain soaking her. She thought of the words she wanted to say.</p><p>
  <em> Love you!</em>
</p><p> "Mom!" May shouted, opening the door to her house. She looked around the kitchen for her mother. Her stomach jumped when she didn't see her. The room was in the same condition it was when May left. The chairs were aligned and upright. The silverware and dishes were neatly sitting in the china cabinet. The TV was still on.</p><p> "Mom?!" May cried, looking around the house. She ran upstairs to her room to check if she went up there. No one was there. "Mom!" May shouted, running back down the stairs. She ran outside.</p><p> "MOM!" May cried. The way she was shouting reminded her of when she was a little kid.</p><p> Tears spilled out of May's eyes as knelt in front of her house. She became oblivious to the disaster that was happening around her. Through her tears and the primordial rain, she saw Storm, Thorn, and Sumo coming back to her.</p><p> "Thorn! Storm! Sumo!" May shouted as she dragged herself toward them. The three Pokemon collapsed in front of her. Possy and Neggy ran to Storm and hugged him.</p><p> "Where are Airplane and Flood?" asked May. The three Pokémon closed their eyes and stared at the ground with melancholy looks on their faces. "Oh no!" cried May.</p><p> May looked up and saw a giant meteor. From May's point of view, it looked as big as the town. It was headed straight at her.</p><p><em> No! </em>May thought. She looked at her exhausted Pokémon. They were struggling on the ground, slowly moving closer to May.</p><p> "Everyone," May cried, moving toward them.</p><p> Storm got up and walked toward May with Possy and Neggy climbing on him. He pressed his head against May's chest as he collapsed again. He rested his head on her lap. Possy and Neggy gripped onto Storm's back.</p><p> "Storm, Possy, Neggy," cried May.</p><p> Thorn crawled to May's right side, the opposite side of where Storm was. He wrapped his arms around his trainer. Thorn pressed his head against May's head and closed his eyes.</p><p> "Thorn," cried May.</p><p> Sumo stood up and moved toward May. He walked around her and sat behind her. He enveloped the group with his giant hands.</p><p> "Sumo," cried May.</p><p> May saw the giant object fly closer to her. She knew it had come too close for any possible escape. She knew she was in her final moments of life.</p><p>
  <em> Is this the end? Is this how I will die? Is this how everyone else will die? Was there really...nothing I could do? I have stopped events like this from happening twice. Is this what would have happened if I hadn't destroyed that meteor two years ago? Was this Hoenn's true fate all along? Was Hoenn destined...to be destroyed by meteors? Did I really only buy this region two extra years?! I'm sorry, everyone. I'm sorry, Pokemon. I'm sorry, Hoenn.</em>
</p><p> "Waaaaaaaah!" May screamed as she closed her eyes.</p><p> May continued screaming as she anticipated seconds of extreme pain. Her throat started to feel sore from the prolonged scream. She stopped screaming to catch her breath. May didn't understand how she could still be breathing. She was certainly dead, right?</p>
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